McClatchy Washington Bureau

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RALEIGH — The historic significance of the inauguration of North Carolina's new governor on Saturday could be found in a pronoun: she.

The "she" is Beverly Perdue, who was sworn in as the state's first female governor before a crowd dotted with proud mothers and daughters who came out on a crisp, sunlit morning to be part of the festivities.

"My presence before you represents a departure from our past," Perdue, a Democrat, told an audience of more than 3,000 outside the State Archives building in downtown Raleigh. "Today, I pledge that this new beginning is more than symbolic. ...You will have a governor who will speak candidly and act boldly."

The significance of the moment was not lost on 5-year-old Kennedy Walker. She was part of a troop of Fayetteville Girl Scouts and Brownies who watched as Perdue was sworn in by another woman, N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Sarah Parker.

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